Skate Park Workshop Is Nov. 7

Bingen moves into high gear

The city of Bingen is moving into high gear in its efforts to build a long-discussed new skate park in Daubenspeck Park.

The first of two public skate park planning workshops will be held on Saturday, Nov. 7, in the former Gorge Grill restaurant building at 216 W. Steuben. The event will run from 9:30 a.m.-11 a.m. that day.

The objective of the meetings is to provide ideas and a "wish list" of proposals from users of the park to aid in the design process. The information will help Grindline Skateparks, Inc., the Seattle-based company that won the design contract, create a park tailored as much as possible to the wishes of the Bingen skating community.

"We really want to encourage people -- if you want to provide input on what kinds of features you want to see -- come at 9:30," said Bingen City Administrator Jan Brending. "At this point, the designers are looking to get input from residents and those using the skate park."

Members of the Bingen City Council, which recently voted to authorize an $18,500 contract with Grindline, will also be in attendance.

The plan is to build a skate park of approximately 5,000-10,000 square feet that can be expanded in the future if and when additional funds become available.

The city of Bingen has set aside approximately $40,000 to build a skate park, and Bingen Mayor Brian Prigel is hopeful that bids to build the skate park will go out next spring. The park is expected to be completed about a month after construction begins.

The skate park is expected to be built where the Daubenspeck Park basketball court is currently. A reconfigured basketball court is being moved elsewhere in the park.

A second workshop, in which preliminary skate park design proposals will be unveiled, has been scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21. That meeting, also scheduled for the Gorge Grill location, will run from 9:30 a.m.-11 a.m.